deaths
March 16, 2005
Dick Radatz, American baseball player (born 1937)
Dick Radatz
Richard Raymond Radatz was an American relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. Nicknamed "The Monster", the 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m), 230 lb (100 kg) right-hander had a scorching but short-lived period of dominance for the Boston Red Sox in the early 1960s. Radatz is reported to have gotten his nickname during a game against the New York Yankees in Boston in 1963. Radatz came in to pitch with the bases loaded and no one out. Radatz consecutively struck out Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, and Elston Howard, and Mantle grumbled about Radatz being "that monster". Over his career Radatz struck out Hall of Famer Mantle 44 times in 63 at-bats.